The ABCs
At 10U, there should still be a focus on developing players' overall agility on the ice (and off the ice, too). Agility is the ability to change the body's position efficiently, and it requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance. Great 10U drills for agility-building include tag and obstacle courses that include combinations of sprints, stops, turns and maneuvers around, over and under objects. These can be done on or off the ice.Development
​At 10U, boys and girls are transitioning from the FUNdamentals stage into the Learn-to-Train stage. This signals the onset of a critical period in their long-term development: the Golden Age of Motor Skill Development.While athletic development is not rigidly age-determined, most kids, by the time they enter 10U hockey, have enough skeletal and musculature development to take advantage of the neural development that has simultaneously occurred. This means that most kids who are in the 9- to 10-year-old range are in prime position to develop motor coordination and acquire sport-specific skills. They have the ability to lift the ceiling higher for their future overall athletic potential. Skating and puck control skills are the primary focus throughout the 10U age group and should be practiced consistently all season. At this age, players begin having the ability to really concentrate on individual technique.Half-Ice
Cross-ice hard dividers are not just for 8U hockey. They can create a great learning environment for players at any age. Many important hockey concepts are reinforced efficiently and repeatedly in this environment, and also in 4v4 half-ice games.Improvement
Improvement is something that all parents want to see in their kids as part of their youth sports experience. But while the scoreboard is used as a measuring device in the outcome for individual games, it doesn’t always give an accurate picture of the improvements we can see in our kids. For example, when a player improves his or her passing ability, success is dependent upon their team’s ability to catch.
As the individual players improve, over time, the cumulative results can eventually be seen on the scoreboard, but it is a slow process. As parents, we always need to maintain proper perspective on the outcomes of individual games and remain focused on the process of continued improvement.Jump Rope
Oldies can sometimes be goodies and the jump rope certainly qualifies as both. It’s such a simple fitness tool, but it can also be one of the most valuable for children in the 10U age classification. Balance, explosion, stamina, rhythm – the jump rope builds all of these in a developing athlete, which is why jump rope drills are included in USA Hockey’s ADM dryland training materials.Patience
Been playing two years? Four years? Six years?
Born in January? How about June? November?

There are many factors beyond our children's control that contribute to who is "good" in youth sports at 10U. And these same factors have little to do with who ultimately becomes a top performer in the years to come. It's extremely important for all adults involved in youth sports to have patience in the development of children. The focus at 10U needs to be fun, participation with friends and basic skill development that sets the table for future success.

Kids develop at different rates. It’s not until they've all gone through puberty and the playing field levels out that we can begin to see which have a passion for sport and might truly excel. At 10U, the journey is still merely getting started.

Quality
At 10U, this is the Golden age of Skill Development, so in a quality practice, expect to see:

• Individual skill work done in a high-activity, high-engagement environment.
• Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills. Station-based practices are one of the best ways to provide a high number of reps and efficient skill development.
• Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
• Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.

WIN
WIN is a coaching acronym. It stands for "What’s Important Now." It's used by coaches to help players focus on the current moment and shift them back into a process-driven mindset. This concept of What's Important Now is also valuable in player development. Certain aspects of development, like basic fundamental skills, need to be learned before players can effectively develop other more complex aspects of the sport. For example, if your players don’t have the skill to catch passes, then your breakout — any breakout — is not going to be very effective.

At 10U, What's Important Now is developing the fundamental skill set that will allow players to succeed as they grow older and the game becomes faster and more demanding.

​Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com

Competition
While competition is a big part of youth sport, what competition means to adults and to kids isn’t always the same. At 12U, coaches and parents need to keep kids focused on process over outcomes. It is the effort and striving that teaches the real lessons.Equal Time
At 12U, the focus should still be on long-term player development and building confidence. Shortening the bench does not accomplish either goal, so providing equal playing time should be paramount. Teams are generally only as strong as their weakest players, so increasing every player's ability will improve long-term player development and help improve the team's overall performance during the season. Coaches and parents should put development ahead of short-term winning in youth hockey games. Remember, these games are for the player’s development, not for the adult’s satisfaction.Passing & Receiving
You may hear professional players say “there’s no such thing as a bad pass to a good player.” While that may be true, it’s still important to develop both the ability to receive deftly and pass accurately. The 12U age group is an ideal development stage for honing both abilities. By this age, most players can competently sweep the puck in the general direction of a teammate. Now it’s time for them to begin sharpening that focus. The tape is the target now, not the general direction of a teammate. Players should also begin recognizing whether their intended target is a right- or left-handed shooter, and then place their passes accordingly.Accountability among players and coaches is the real key to refined passing and receiving skills. Close is no longer close enough at 12U and beyond. Taking aim and hitting the target must become the expectation. Passes must be given and received with a higher level of focus and intent. But even with that increased focus, and even at the professional level, passes sometimes go astray. As receivers, 12U players should begin taking more responsibility to coral these wayward pucks.In baseball, if you can get a glove on the ball, you are expected to catch it. In football if the receiver can get a hand on the ball, he is expected to catch it. So why would this expectation be any different in hockey? If the pass is within reach, players must find a way to collect it. This is an expectation that coaches should begin instilling among 12U players.Professional players understand that teammates are going to be under duress in games and the pass won’t always be on the tape. They know it’s their responsibility to collect the puck as cleanly as possible so that they can advance the play. It’s also characteristic of being a good, accountable teammate. Conversely, good, accountable teammates must also focus on setting their intended target up for success by putting the puck in the right spot.​So how does a coach begin instilling the on-target mindset at 12U? It starts with the basics. Many teams practice passing drills with zero resistance, no opposition. Once players have the basic technical skills in place, the expectation should become a 100-percent success rate in these zero-resistance drills. Coaches should install this goal among their 12U players, along with the skills to achieve it. Their commitment to the 100-percent success rate puts players in the right mindset for a quality practice. It also positions them for greater success on game day.

Quality
A basic premise of USA Hockey's American Development Model is to make efficient use of the ice time available to our players. In a quality practice, expect to see:

• Individual skill work done in a high-activity environment.
• Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills.
• Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
• Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.

Transition
As much as hockey people think the game is a possession sport, it's even more of a transition game. The puck changes possession more than 200 times during a hockey game. That means players are constantly switching between offense to defense and then from defense back to offense. The teams and players that can think fast and switch or transition fast are usually the most successful. So how do we practice this type of transition? The use of certain small-area games place players in situations where they are forced to transition quickly and often. Click here to see a video example of a game that promotes this type of situational play.

Vagabond
At 12U, players begin transitioning into a more competitive hockey environment, but that’s no reason to lose focus on what’s most important. Individual skill development, not 12U tournament championships, should remain paramount, and the most efficient way to develop skills is with daily programming built on age-appropriate competition and training. That means there’s no need to become a hockey vagabond at 12U, traveling all over the country in pursuit of exposure. Development happens at home.

​Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com

Commitment
It takes commitment to excel in sports. Working hard to improve as an athlete takes time and sweat. Athletes must overcome adversity. Nothing is easy. In team sports, like hockey, there is an added level of commitment – a commitment to your teammates. When people talk about the values that can be learned in sport, values that transcend into other aspects of life, they often mention the value of work ethic; working both with and for teammates. Being committed to teammates’ success and the team’s overall success can teach and nurture selflessness.Commitment also means being accountable to teammates. Hockey requires players to make contributions to the team in many ways. Only one player gets credit for scoring a goal, but there are usually many plays that lead up to that end result. The player who defended, the goalie who made the save, the player who won the puck and made the pass – they all contribute. All of them must show commitment to produce that end result of a goal. And when that ultimate success is achieved, through commitment with teammates and friends, there is no better feeling.Growth
The 14U age group can include players with a wide range of physical and mental maturity. On the physical side, players born on the same day can be physically +/- three years different in physical maturity. This can have a dramatic effect on performance.Children who grow rapidly may face some coordination issues. Tasks that were previously mastered may become more awkward. For example, a player's skating stride may change and his/her ability to maneuver might diminish. It takes time for the athlete to catch up and fit into his or her new body. This has implications on the ice. Coaches need to recognize these issues and be prepared to help players move through this phase of development.On the other end of the spectrum, the late-maturing player can be smaller than his/her teammates and opponents. This also can be a disadvantage in a contact/collision sport like ice hockey. The interesting thing is that the late-growth spurt child stays in the “skills development” window longer, allowing for the potential to more easily acquire hockey skills. The small, late-growing player may have the potential to be even better in the long run than the early maturer. Coaches and parents need to encourage the late-growth spurt child and prevent them from becoming discouraged.It is important for both coaches and parents to understand where each child is within the normal growth process and how it is affecting the child in the short term. Be patient, as it is not until ALL of the kids reach physical and mental maturity that we really know who will be the best players.High-Performance Training
At the older age classifications, the best types of practice drills are the ones that incorporate live play and tactical decision-making with the exercise. These are the types of drills shown to have the highest rate of transfer for the players back to the real game. As players progress and their individual skill levels increase, the more they need to tie in hockey decisions to their skill executions in practice. This can be done in both small-area games or in drills where players compete against an opponent.

Puck Possession
Today, an unconditional mindset of dump-and-chase is detrimental to the team game, and more specifically, it’s detrimental to the individual skill development of the player. The hockey culture has changed, especially with the way new defensemen are taught to retrieve the puck, skate and initiate the breakout. Winning teams that have success today are built around keeping the puck – puck possession – rather than giving it away and chasing it.

Puck possession is positive for a team because it allows creativity for the players. Confidence rises within your team when you have the puck. Teams with the puck have the initiative; they dictate the pace. Teams with the puck have the opportunity to attack. Teams with the puck have the ability to play collectively as five-player units. Teams that play as five-player units are tough to defend against.

Quality
A basic premise of USA Hockey's American Development Model is to make efficient use of the ice time available to our players. In a quality practice, expect to see:

• Individual skill work done in a high-activity environment.
• Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills.
• Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
• Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.

Small Spaces
As our players get older and bigger, what was previously a large patch of ice becomes smaller. And as the playing surface shrinks, the time players have to react in game situations is reduced. It's important that, during practices, our players are forced to do things quicker and in smaller areas. That way, on game day, they are in better position to adapt and excel. Practices at the 14U level should continue to include some station-based work, where the ice surface is broken into small areas. In these stations, the coaches can work with players in small groups on individual skills and in live-action, competitive small-area games.
​
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com

Commitment
It takes commitment to excel in sports. Working hard to improve as an athlete takes time and sweat. Athletes must overcome adversity. Nothing is easy. In team sports, like hockey, there is an added level of commitment – a commitment to your teammates. When people talk about the values that can be learned in sport, values that transcend into other aspects of life, they often mention the value of work ethic; working both with and for teammates. Being committed to teammates’ success and the team’s overall success can teach and nurture selflessness.Commitment also means being accountable to teammates. Hockey requires players to make contributions to the team in many ways. Only one player gets credit for scoring a goal, but there are usually many plays that lead up to that end result. The player who defended, the goalie who made the save, the player who won the puck and made the pass – they all contribute. All of them must show commitment to produce that end result of a goal. And when that ultimate success is achieved, through commitment with teammates and friends, there is no better feeling.Growth
The 18U age group can include players with a wide range of physical and mental maturity. On the physical side, players born on the same day can be physically +/- three years different in physical maturity. This can have a dramatic effect on performance.Children who grow rapidly may face some coordination issues. Tasks that were previously mastered may become more awkward. For example, a player's skating stride may change and his/her ability to maneuver might diminish. It takes time for the athlete to catch up and fit into his or her new body. This has implications on the ice. Coaches need to recognize these issues and be prepared to help players move through this phase of development.On the other end of the spectrum, the late-maturing player can be smaller than his/her teammates and opponents. This also can be a disadvantage in a contact/collision sport like ice hockey. The interesting thing is that the late-growth spurt child stays in the “skills development” window longer, allowing for the potential to more easily acquire hockey skills. The small, late-growing player may have the potential to be even better in the long run than the early maturer. Coaches and parents need to encourage the late-growth spurt child and prevent them from becoming discouraged.It is important for both coaches and parents to understand where each child is within the normal growth process and how it is affecting the child in the short term. Be patient, as it is not until ALL of the kids reach physical and mental maturity that we really know who will be the best players.High-Performance Training
At the older age classifications, the best types of practice drills are the ones that incorporate live play and tactical decision-making with the exercise. These are the types of drills shown to have the highest rate of transfer for the players back to the real game. As players progress and their individual skill levels increase, the more they need to tie in hockey decisions to their skill executions in practice. This can be done in both small-area games or in drills where players compete against an opponent.

Puck Possession
Today, an unconditional mindset of dump-and-chase is detrimental to the team game, and more specifically, it’s detrimental to the individual skill development of the player. The hockey culture has changed, especially with the way new defensemen are taught to retrieve the puck, skate and initiate the breakout. Winning teams that have success today are built around keeping the puck – puck possession – rather than giving it away and chasing it.

Puck possession is positive for a team because it allows creativity for the players. Confidence rises within your team when you have the puck. Teams with the puck have the initiative; they dictate the pace. Teams with the puck have the opportunity to attack. Teams with the puck have the ability to play collectively as five-player units. Teams that play as five-player units are tough to defend against.

Quality
A basic premise of USA Hockey's American Development Model is to make efficient use of the ice time available to our players. In a quality practice, expect to see:

• Individual skill work done in a high-activity environment.
• Plenty of repetitions for efficiently refining a player's technical skills.
• Skill development with an increasing degree of complexity and decision-making.
• Game situational play through small-area games to teach the skills, concepts and tactics of ice hockey, along with the ability to make quicker decisions.

Small Spaces
As our players get older and bigger, what was previously a large patch of ice becomes smaller. And as the playing surface shrinks, the time players have to react in game situations is reduced. It's important that, during practices, our players are forced to do things quicker and in smaller areas. That way, on game day, they are in better position to adapt and excel. Practices at the 18U level should continue to include some station-based work, where the ice surface is broken into small areas. In these stations, the coaches can work with players in small groups on individual skills and in live-action, competitive small-area games.
​
Content adapted from www.ADMkids.com